Eight months after the explosions at the fireworks warehouses in Elin Pelin, which killed four people, the causes of the explosions have become clear.
This was revealed by BNT.
According to the conclusion of the forensic expert report, high summer temperatures have increased the sensitivity of the igniters and this led to the first explosion in the pyrotechnic warehouses. The conclusion has already been submitted to the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office. It has been established that only pyrotechnics and pyrotechnic mixtures were stored in the warehouses.
The forensic expert report clarifies several key issues for the investigation. First, an explosion occurs, and the fire is a consequence. Second - only pyrotechnic mixtures and fireworks were stored in the warehouses, no explosives were stored. And third - the first explosion occurred in warehouse number 12 at the moment when Assoc. Prof. Petar Shishkov was attaching electric igniters to a firework called "Star Ball".
"The increased temperature of the environment is directly related to this high sensitivity, which was manifested at the moment when this attachment was taking place. The summer temperatures during this period had an impact," commented Hristina Lulcheva, Deputy District Prosecutor of Sofia
At that moment, in warehouse number 12, along with Assoc. Prof. Shishkov, his daughter Kristina and Todor Popov, son of the warehouse owner, were also present. The fourth victim - Stoyan Maslev - was also located near the room. After the first explosion, several more followed.
"The expert report provides an answer to the fact that initially we have an explosion, the fire in each of the containers was transferred from one place to another. In the immediate vicinity of this room, warehouse number 12, there was also the neighboring warehouse, number 13, in which there was a large amount of powdered pyrotechnic mixture", said Hristina Lulcheva, Deputy District Prosecutor of Sofia.
It is the ignition of this mixture that leads to a series of powerful explosions, which even set fire to warehouses several hundred meters from the scene of the incident. Why this chain reaction has occurred should become clear from two other expert reports - fire and construction.
"The latter is tasked with answering the question of whether the regulatory requirements were met at each stage of the construction of the site and whether there was a deviation from the rules for putting the site into operation," said Hristina Lulcheva, Deputy District Prosecutor of Sofia.
The expert reports must also answer the question of the fire resistance of the individual buildings in the pyrotechnic warehouse.